Tom Lewand: Detroit Lions had 'no trepidation' about London game if they were visiting team

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions will travel more than 3,700 miles to play a regular-season game on another continent against a perennial playoff contender.

And they had no reservations about it.

"No trepidation at all," Lions president Tom Lewand said Thursday of the team's game in London next year. "I think we've seen the experiences -- particularly of the road teams over the last few years -- have been a manageable experience from a football standpoint. I think they've been able to adjust and get this into a pretty regimented schedule.

"It's a challenge, but it's a challenge players have met on the other teams, and I have no doubt that ours will meet it as well."

The Minnesota Vikings prepare to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in London earlier this year. The Detroit Lions will play at Wembley Stadium next year.Associated Press

Detroit will travel to London to face the Atlanta Falcons in a regular-season game next season at Wembley Stadium. The NFL is expected to announce a date for the game within a few weeks.

The Lions were on board with the proposition, with only one demand: They wouldn't give up a home game to do it. And they got their wish.

They'll be the road team against Atlanta, meaning they still get all eight home games at Ford Field.

"Our fans deserve every home game that we can have at Ford Field," Lewand said. "But this gives us an opportunity to take some of our fans on the road, and make some new fans, and do so on an international stage. It's an exciting opportunity.

"The real focus is on the challenge it presents for our team. A different setting, a different experience, and that can only build skills and build experience as you have an opportunity to meet those challenges."

Lewand said he learned a couple days ago the Lions had been selected, but still doesn't know a date because the league is considering slotting one of the three London games in the afternoon.

That means an early morning kick in Detroit. And really early morning in the Western U.S.

"That's still being worked out," Lewand said. "It's one of the reasons we don't know the schedule yet, and I don't know if they do in fact do that, whether we'd be that game. That would present a little different wrinkle."

Lewand says he expects the Lions to practice normally Wednesday and Thursday, then depart for London on Thursday night. The team would practice in England on Friday and walk-through on Saturday before playing Sunday.

"For the visiting team in particular, it's a pretty compressed schedule. It's not like a bowl trip in college when you're out there for six or seven or eight days and doing things around there," Lewand said. "Eating beef at Lawry's and things like that. That's my limited bowl experience."

The Lions were assured a bye the week after the game, helping to ease the travel demands.

Detroit won't get extra compensation for playing in London, although will be reimbursed for any extra travel expenses incurred while traveling overseas instead of to Atlanta.

The NFL announced weeks ago that the Falcons would host one of the three games. Considering Detroit's star power, that game seemed like a good bet to move abroad.

In the end, the league couldn't say no to the prospects of Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford, Ndamukong Suh and Reggie Bush playing in the valuable European market.

"Clearly there are some guys who have some marketability and will be good narratives leading into next year," Lewand said. "But the best narrative is to have a successful team this year, and that's what we need to keep focused on."